A publicidade na advocacia

The aim of this dissertation is the analysis of the rules on advertising in advocacy. Presently this is a controversial issue that is far from being consensual. As we will demonstrate through the text, the arguments presented are, one the one hand, a safeguard of the deontological values of the profession that govern this professional class and, on the other hand, the interests of the legal service providers, in the current context. Opinions differ substantially among professionals who exercise the profession in individual practice, that defend balanced and fair rules to assert the true brightness of the professional lawyer, and those who work in an organized structure, such as the law firms, who defend more flexible rules in advertising and promoting the offices. Currently the rules of advertising for lawyers are provided by article 89º of the Statue of the Portuguese Bar Association. However, these rules will soon suffer adjustments that will take into consideration the Law no. 2/2013 of january 10, which will extend the scope of advertising for public associations, in order to increase the competition among these, at national or European level. Following this logic, arguments such as unequal access to available means of advertising for financial reasons or that the better publicized service is not always the most advantageous to the costumer will be analyzed and criticized.